With the previous presidential administration’s frankness on the matter, marijuana has become more blasé. Naturally, marijuana stocks have also increased in popularity, where we have more choices today than was previously thought possible. For instance, some of the top marijuana stocks are levered toward medical cannabis.

After the news of Tilray’s intention to purchase hemp-derived CBD isolate from LiveWell Canada came out, Tilray stock rose more than 13% on December 18. At 9:50 AM EST on December 18, Tilray stock posted a day high of $74.69—up 13.4% from the previous session’s closing price. Last week, Tilray announced its investments in ROSE LifeScience.

California legalized recreational marijuana at the very beginning of 2018. The cannabis industry grows very quickly. Both directly and indirectly, there are a number of ways you can turn cannabis into one of the more intriguing investments in your portfolio.

Last week was a brutal week for Aphria (APHA) (APHQF). Aphria’s troubles began last Monday when Gabriel Grego of Quintessential Capital Management called the stock “worthless” and explained in detail why he believes the company destroyed shareholder value. Aphria fought back and appointed a special committee that consists of independent directors who will be tasked with reviewing the allegations.

Today, Aphria (APHA)(APHQF) resumed a sharp sell-off in its stock from early this month after surging a whopping 51% yesterday. Now, let’s find out what could be driving Aphria stock down today. Grego alleged that “Aphria had diverted funds into inflated investments held by insiders.” Since then, these allegations have taken a massive toll on investors’ confidence.

On December 6, Aphria’s (APHQF) short seller, Hindenburg Research, released its Part 2 on what it found to be further malice in the company’s acquisition efforts. According to the research, this acquisition showed a 5 million Canadian dollar gain to Aphria’s insider in a matter of six days. Further, the report pointed out that Aphria’s CEO, Vic Neufeld, was also a part of the “discount round” in which Aphria purchased companies at overpriced valuations. Even more damning was the short seller’s observation that the SEC had alleged that the individuals that Aphria purchased companies from were involved in pump and dump schemes.

Aprhia (APHQF) recovered by nearly 50% on December 6 due to its further commitment to relieve investors’ fears related to its Latin America business. The company appointed a special committee that consists of independent directors who will be tasked with reviewing the legitimacy of the company’s acquisitions in Latin America. The above chart shows that Aphria (APHQF) is among the top ten holdings in the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF (HMMJ).

On December 6, Aphria (APHQF) (APHA) clawed back after a brutal sell-off in which the company lost nearly half of its value in just the first three days of this week. In contrast, Aurora Cannabis (ACBFF), Tilray (TLRY), and Cronos Group (CRON) were all in the negative territory. At the heart of Aphria’s downfall was a short seller’s allegation that acquisitions in Latin American were made at inflated prices.

Aphria (APHQF) (APHA) has been reeling due to scandalous allegations regarding the company’s business activities. There doesn’t seem to be a bottom for the stock. Aphria stock lost nearly 25% on December 5. The stock has lost 42% in the three trading days in December.

Due to Aphria’s (APHA) (APHQF) broad sell-off, several investors lost their investments. The investments might not be recovered if the claims against the company are true. As a result, Johnson Fistel LLP, a law firm, announced that it’s investigating Aphria for possibly violating the securities law. In a statement, the law firm sought information related to violations from the public and past employees. Johnson Fistel LLP also encouraged investors that suffered losses to contact the firm.

On December 4, Aphria (APHA) (APHQF) continued to fall. There were negative remarks that the company diverted investors’ funds to companies in Latin America that were linked to insiders at inflated values. Aphria lost almost 21.2% on December 4. The stock fell to 5.99 Canadian dollars from 6.6 Canadian dollars.

On December 3, Aphria (APHQF) (APHA) had one of its worst days after falling nearly 28% in the Canadian exchange to 7.6 Canadian dollars from 10.51 Canadian dollars. Aphria fell due to a scathing remark made by a bearish investor, Gabrial Grego of Quintessential Capital Management. The news comes right after Aphria had one of its worst months in November. Aphria stock fell nearly 30%, while other stocks in the cannabis industry (HMMJ) experienced a relatively better month.

With smoking restrictions in public and the workplace, cannabis in the form of a dried flower might not be the most preferred way to enjoy cannabis. Canopy Growth (WEED) refers to the process of converting the dried flower to other forms as “value-addition.” The above chart shows the possibilities for value-addition. Canopy Growth thinks that it’s important to move into value-added products like soft gels and pre-rolled products.

On November 27, Aurora Cannabis (ACB) (ACBFF) announced that it completed its first shipment to the Czech Republic after it was able to secure an export permit to ship medical cannabis to the country. The below chart shows Aurora Cannabis’s market reach around the world. The medical cannabis was shipped to Czech Medical Herbs, which is a wholesaler of pharmaceutical products in the country.

Pursuant to its efforts towards the development of intellectual property (or IP) related to cannabis products, Canopy Growth (WEED)(CGC) announced yesterday that it completed the previously announced acquisition of EBBU. Canopy Growth stated that the acquisition will help it make advancements in its THC and hemp-based genetic breeding of cannabis as well as drinks infused with cannabis.

Previously in this series, we discussed cannabis stocks’ aggregate EV-to-sales multiple. The valuation multiple fell month-over-month from the peak of 13.0x to 5.1x as of November 20. The multiple fell because most cannabis companies (MJ) experienced a decline in their enterprise value due to the major sell-off that occurred in November.

Aphria (APHQF) has had one of the weakest months compared to other cannabis companies (HMMJ) such as Canopy Growth (WEED), Supreme Cannabis (SPRWF), and HEXO (HEXO). In this month alone, the stock has declined by nearly 21.4%. Let’s look at what analysts think.

On November 13, Cronos Group (CRON) reported its quarterly results. It posted sales of 3.7 million Canadian dollars, which beat analysts’ consensus estimate of 3.6 million Canadian dollars, and the margins also remained healthy. However, the company’s bottom line struggled. Read more at Key Updates on Cronos Group’s Third-Quarter Earnings. Let’s look at what analysts recommend for the stock.

While the overall markets were filled with negative sentiments, the earnings season for cannabis stocks dampened the excitement in the sector. Most of the cannabis companies missed consensus estimates. In the above chart, you can see some of the big cannabis names (HMMJ) that saw an impressive run-up in October 2018 as marijuana became legal in Canada.

On November 14, Canopy Growth (WEED) (CGC) reported its second-quarter earnings, which largely disappointed the market. As a result, the stock took a beating with an 11% decline to $34.3. The company reported revenues of 23.3 million Canadian dollars, which missed analysts’ estimate of 61.7 million Canadian dollars.

One of the most anticipated aspects of Aurora Cannabis’s (ACB) (ACBFF) earnings results was an update on the recreational cannabis (HMMJ) market demand. In its press release, Aurora Cannabis stated that the company had a “strong performance” in the recreational cannabis segment during the quarter, which ended in September 2018. During the first quarter, the company stated that its brands accounted for nearly 30% of the total cannabis supplied through the OCS (Ontario Cannabis Store) with San Rafael being Aurora’s top brand sold in Ontario.

Aurora Cannabis (ACB) is estimated to report a loss per share of 0.07 Canadian dollars, which would be lower than the profit per share of 0.01 Canadian dollars in the corresponding quarter of 2017. Cronos (CRON) is expected to report a loss per share of 0.02 Canadian dollars, which is flat compared to the corresponding quarter a year ago. Tilray (TLRY) is expected to report a loss per share of 0.13 Canadian dollars for the quarter.